View source for Haruspex

{{Short description|Person trained to practise a form of divination}}
{{for|the genus of beetles|Haruspex (beetle){{!}}''Haruspex'' (beetle)}}
[[File:Piacenza Bronzeleber.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Diagram of the sheep's liver found near [[Piacenza]] with [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] inscriptions on the bronze sheep's [[Liver of Piacenza]]]]
{{Anthropology of religion|Basic}}

A '''haruspex'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|h|ə|ˈ|r|ʌ|.|s|p|ɛ|k|s}} {{Respelling|hə|RUH|spehks}}, plural '''haruspices''' {{IPAc-en|h|ə|ˈ|r|ʌ|.|s|p|ɪ|ˌ|s|i|z}} {{Respelling|hə|RUH|spih|sees}}, also called '''aruspex'''}} was a person trained to practise a form of [[divination]] called '''haruspicy''' in the [[Ancient Roman religion|religion of ancient Rome]],{{efn|{{IPAc-en|h|ə|ˈ|r|ʌ|.|s|p|ɪ|ˌ|s|iː}} {{Respelling|hə|RUH|speh|see}} (L. ''[[wikt:haruspicina|haruspicina]]'')}} the inspection of the entrails{{efn|''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#exta|exta]]''&mdash;hence also '''extispicy''' (L. ''extispicium'')}} of [[Animal sacrifice|sacrificed animal]]s, especially the [[liver]]s of sacrificed [[domestic sheep|sheep]] and [[poultry]]. 
Various ancient cultures of the Near East, such as the Babylonians, also read omens specifically from the liver, a practice also known by the Greek term  '''hepatoscopy''' (also '''hepatomancy''').

The Roman concept is directly derived from [[Etruscan religion]], as one of the three branches of the ''[[disciplina Etrusca]]''.
==Etymology==

The Latin terms ''[[:wikt:haruspex|haruspex]]'' and ''haruspicina'' are from an archaic word, ''hīra'' = "entrails, intestines" (cognate with ''hernia'' = "protruding viscera" and ''hira'' = "empty gut"; PIE ''[[:wikt:Appendix:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰer-|*ǵʰer-]]'') and from the root  ''[[:wikt:specio#Latin|spec-]]'' = "to watch, observe". The Greek ἡπατοσκοπία ''hēpatoskōpia'' is from ''[[:wikt:ἧπαρ|hēpar]]'' = "liver" and ''[[:wikt:σκοπέω|skop-]]'' = "to examine".

==Ancient Near East==
{{further|Bārûtu|Orientalizing period}}
[[File:Divinatory livers Louvre AO19837.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Assyria#Old Assyrian Empire, 2025–1522 BCE|
Akkadian language ]] clay sheep liver models written in a local dialect, recovered from the palace at [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], dated to the 19th or 18th century BCE.]]
{{blockquote|The spread of hepatoscopy is one of the clearest examples of cultural contact in the orientalizing period. It must have been a case of East-West understanding on a relatively high, technical level. The mobility of migrant charismatics is the natural prerequisite for this diffusion, the international role of sought-after specialists, who were, as far as their art was concerned, nevertheless bound to their father-teachers. We cannot expect to find many archaeologically identifiable traces of such people, other than some exceptional instances.|[[Walter Burkert]], 1992. ''The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age'' (Thames and Hudson), p. 51.}}

The Babylonians were famous for hepatoscopy. This practice is mentioned in the [[Book of Ezekiel]] 21:21:

{{blockquote|For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he [[belomancy|shaketh the arrows]] to and fro, he inquireth of the [[teraphim]], he looketh in the liver.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et1221.htm|title = Ezekiel 21|publisher = Mechon-Mamre|website = Hebrew Bible in English|access-date = 2018-05-11|archive-date = 2016-04-24|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160424172832/http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et1221.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>See also: Darshan, Guy, [https://www.academia.edu/19691541/The_Meaning_of_%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%90_Ezek_21_24_and_the_Prophecy_Concerning_Nebuchadnezzar_at_the_Crossroads_Ezek_21_23_29_18_24_ZAW_128_2016_83_95 "The Meaning of bārēʾ (Ez 21,24) and the Prophecy Concerning Nebuchadnezzar at the Crossroads (Ez 21,23-29)"], ZAW 128 (2016), 83-95. A more modern  translation, from the [[New English Bible]], translates the verse as follows: "For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver." [http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/B26C021.htm New English Bible online]</ref>}}

One Babylonian clay model of a sheep's liver, dated between 1900 and 1600 BCE, is conserved in the [[British Museum]].<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1889-0426-238 The Liver tablet 92668].</ref>

The Assyro-Babylonian tradition was also adopted in [[Hittite religion]]. At least thirty-six liver-models have been excavated at [[Hattusa]]. Of these, the majority are inscribed in Akkadian,  but a few examples also have inscriptions in the native [[Hittite language]], indicating the adoption of haruspicy as part of the native, vernacular cult.<ref>four specimens are known to Güterbock (1987): [[Catalogue des Textes Hittites|CTH]] 547 II, KBo 9 67, KBo 25, KUB 4 72 (VAT 8320 in [[Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin]]), for which see also [[George Sarton]], ''Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece'' (1952, 1970), [https://books.google.com/books?id=VcoGIKlHuZcC&pg=PA93 p. 93], citing Alfred Boissier, ''Mantique babylonienne et mantique hittite'' (1935).</ref>

==Ancient Italy==
Roman haruspicy was a form of communication with the gods. Rather than strictly predicting future events, this form of Roman divination allowed humans to discern the attitudes of the gods and react in a way that would maintain harmony between the human and divine worlds ([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion|pax deorum]]).<ref name=":02">Johnston, Sarah Iles. "Divination: Greek and Roman Divination". In ''Encyclopedia of Religion'', 2nd ed., edited by Lindsay Jones, 2375–2378. Vol. 4. Detroit, Michigan: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Gale eBooks.</ref> Before taking important actions, especially in battle, Romans conducted animal sacrifices to discover the will of the gods according to the information gathered through reading the animals' entrails.<ref name=":02" /> The entrails (most importantly the liver, but also the lungs and heart) contained a large number of signs that indicated the gods' approval or disapproval. These signs could be interpreted according to the appearance of the organs, for example, if the liver was "smooth, shiny and full" or "rough and shrunken".<ref name=":12">Driediger-Murphy, Lindsay G, and Eidinow, Esther. ''Ancient Divination and Experience''. Oxford: Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2019.</ref> The Etruscans looked for the ''caput iocineris'', or "head of the liver". It was considered a bad omen if this part was missing from the animal's liver. The haruspex would then study the flat visceral side of the liver after examining the ''caput iocineris''.<ref>Stevens, Natalie L. C. “A New Reconstruction of the Etruscan Heaven.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 113, no. 2, Archaeological Institute of America, 2009</ref>

[[File:Diagram of the bronze liver of Piacenza.jpg|thumb|Diagram of the bronze liver of Piacenza]]
[[File:Votive Relief of Haruspex Caius Fulvius Salvis.jpg|thumb|Relief depicting a haruspex from the Roman Temple of Hercules]]
Haruspicy in Ancient Italy originated with the Etruscans. Textual evidence for Etruscan divination comes from an Etruscan inscription: the priest Laris Pulenas' (250–200 BCE) epitaph mentions a book he wrote on haruspicy. A collection of sacred texts called the ''Etrusca disciplina'', written in Etruscan, were essentially guides on different forms of divination, including haruspicy and [[augury]].<ref name=":22">MacIntosh Turfa, Jean, and Tambe, Ashwini, eds. ''The Etruscan World''. London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central.</ref> In addition, a number of archeological artifacts depict Etruscan haruspicy. These include a bronze mirror with an image of a haruspex dressed in Etruscan priest's clothing, holding a liver while a crowd gathers near him. Another significant artifact relating to haruspicy in Ancient Italy is the [[Liver of Piacenza|Piacenza Liver]]. This bronze model of a sheep's liver was found by chance by a farmer in 1877. Names of gods are etched into the surface and organized into different sections.<ref name=":22" /> Artifacts depicting haruspicy exist from the ancient Roman world as well, such as stone relief carvings located in [[Trajan's Forum]].<ref name=":12" />

At the most influential time of haruspicy, the Roman senate decreed that 'a certain number of young Etruscans' should be instructed in it to provide haruspices for the state.<ref>“LacusCurtius • Haruspices (Smith’s Dictionary, 1875).” Accessed March 19, 2025. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Haruspices.html.
</ref> These Etruscans were later appointed as Roman [[augurs]].<ref>Kobori, K. 2013: “An Observation on the Religion of the Romans in 
Republican Rome – on the concept of Religio”, PhD thesis (Tokyo 
University)</ref>

In later days when haruspicy became a neglected art, [[Emperor Claudius]], who ruled from AD 41-54 attempted to revive it. He directed the Senate to pass a decree to examine what parts of it should be ‘maintained or strengthened’.<ref>“LacusCurtius • Tacitus, Annals — Book XI Chapters 1‑15.” Accessed March 19, 2025. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/Annals/11A*.html#15.</ref>

==Northeast Africa==
In southwest Ethiopia and adjacent area of [[South Sudan]], a number of ethnic communities have had the practice of reading animal entrails to divine the future.<ref>Abbink, Jon. "Reading the entrails: analysis of an African divination discourse." ''Man'' (1993): 705-726.</ref> Some of the groups that have been documented as having this practice include [[Surma people|Suri]], [[Mursi people|Mursi ]], [[Toposa people|Topsa ]], [[Nyangatom people|Nyangatom]], [[Didinga people|Didinga]], [[Murle people|Murle]], [[Me'en people|Me'en]], [[Turkana people|Turkana]], [[Konso people|Konso]],<ref>Otto, Shako. "Traditional Konso culture and the missionary impact." In ''Annales d'Ethiopie,'' vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 149-180. 2004.</ref> [[Dime language|Dime]],<ref>Todd, Dave M. "Herbalists, Diviners and Shamans in Dimam." ''Paideuma'' (1977): 189-204.</ref> [[Karamojong people|Karamojong]],<ref>Knighton, Ben. "The State as Raider among the Karamojong:‘Where there are no Guns, they use the Threat of Guns’." ''Africa'' 73, no. 3 (2003): 427-455.</ref> [[Dodoth people|Dodoth]],<ref>Hazama, Itsuhiro. "A review of Kaori Kawai's works on Dodoth and raiding." ''Nomadic Peoples'' 14, no. 2 (2010): 164-167.</ref> [[Kalenjin people]]<ref>Karani, Shiyuka Elvis. ''Religious Experience of the Kalenjin of Kerio-Valley Cultural Complex, Kenya, 1800-1965.'' PhD Diss., Kenyatta University. 2023.</ref>

Haruspication has also been practiced in Kenya, such as the [[Kamba people|Kamba]]<ref>Harris, Grace. "Possession “Hysteria” in a Kenya Tribe 1." ''American Anthropologist'' 59, no. 6 (1957): 1046-1066.</ref> and the [[Kipsigis people|Kipsikis]].<ref>Barton, Juxon. "Notes on the Kipsikis or Lumbwa Tribe of Kenya Colony." ''The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'' 53 (1923): 42-78.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anthropomancy]]
* [[Augur]]
* [[Auspice]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* [[Walter Burkert]], 1992. ''The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age'' (Thames and Hudson), pp 46–51.
* Derek Collins, "Mapping the Entrails: The Practice of Greek Hepatoscopy" ''American Journal of Philology'' 129 [2008]: 319-345
* Marie-Laurence Haack, ''Les haruspices dans le monde romain'' (Bordeaux : Ausonius, 2003).
*Hans Gustav Güterbock, 'Hittite liver models' in:  ''Language, Literature and History (FS Reiner)'' (1987), 147–153, reprinted in   Hoffner (ed.) ''Selected Writings'', Assyriological Studies no. 26 (1997).[http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/as26.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205644/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/as26.pdf |date=2013-10-29 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Haruspices|volume=13|pages=37–38}} This source suggests that Greek and Roman haruspices used the entrails of human corpses; the victim should be "without spot or blemish".
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Haruspices.html Haruspices], article in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
* [http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/x-Schede/MGEs/MGEs_Sala03_06_051.html Figurine of Haruspex, 4th Cent. B.C.] Vatican Museums Online, Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Room III
*{{ cite journal | title = Chapters 1 and 2 of the bārûtu | author = l. Starr | journal = State Archives of Assyria Bulletin | volume = 6 | year = 1992 | pages = 45–53 }}

{{Roman religion}}
{{Etruscans}}

[[Category:Ancient Roman occupations]]
[[Category:Etruscan religion]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern mythology]]
[[Category:Roman augurs]]
[[Category:Divination]]